Friday, July 27, 2012

1,2,3 ... Chick-fil-A and the Culture War

That from a coworker who sees the Chick fil-A imbroglio as self-segregation via fast food with the same values fault line that separates the city of Memphis from the municipalities.

So, for this person, the August 1st Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day — aka the "buycott" spurred on by former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee in support of Chick-fil-A company president Dan Cathy's anti-gay/pro-family stance — and the August 2nd vote go hand-in-hand in this culture war.

Listen, I don't care if you eat Chick-fil-A, but if you eat there on August 1st, you'll be seen as a bigot. (I'm plenty interested to see what the scene at the Midtown location will be like on that day.)

Some have painted this situation as a First Amendment issue, and, indeed, Cathy has every right to say what he wishes and to spend his money on causes as he sees fit. The consumer, too, has rights, and if he or she disagrees with Cathy's practices and cares about equality, then that is reason enough to go elsewhere and not just on August 1st. The sacrifice of a tasty chicken biscuit seems plenty worth it.